Pumpkin spiced lattes, roast potatoes, fallen apples for composting bins....and dogs dressed up for Halloween? It could only be Autumn at GoodGym Wandsworth - and we're here for it!

We started off our evening with a warm up and a big decision to make. Did we have it in us to tackle not one, but two tasks that evening? Of course we did! So after several different moves to get our heart rates up and a discussion about whether we'd prefer to be super wealthy, wise or famous (we were split evenly between wealthy and wise) we set off for our initial location for the night.

The first part of our task was very much in keeping with the Autumn theme. We soon arrived at Christchurch gardens, a local space which is managed by residents. They try to keep it as clean, tidy, safe and welcoming for neighbours as possible, and asked us to come and lend a hand with the fallen leaves. The problem had got out of hand at the front of the community hall and church as they have been coming down thick and fast here, making it slippery underfoot. So while most of the team got busy picking and bagging them, some of us went round the perimeter of the garden collecting litter.

It didn't take us long to make a huge difference, so after a quick break for a photo (thanks Andy!) we got ready for our second task of the evening.

FoodCycle aims to make food poverty, loneliness and food waste a thing of the past for every community. Their vision is to connect communities, reduce loneliness and food poverty using surplus food to help everyone who needs us. They have a new hub in Clapham Junction which is a welcoming space for people from all walks of life to meet, eat and have conversations, but it is still in its early stages to needs more volunteers to help run the place.

They asked us to help spread the word by leafleting in the local area to try and raise awareness and recruit people to help. So armed with a few hundred flyers, we got started by forming a highly efficient human chain. With a group of us on each side of the street we went from house to house putting the leaflets through letterboxes. It ended up being a bit of a race - a spot of healthy competition always helps get the job done faster at GoodGym!

At the end of the evening we had covered quite a bit of mileage and supported two important, and very different, local organisations. What better way to spend a Monday! If you'd like to extend the happy feeling of using your workout to do good, why not join me tonight to deliver more leaflets for FoodCycle this time in the Elephant and Castle area. Or if you're free Sunday, why not pop down to the GoodGym Garden in Clapham to do various jobs including, excitingly, installing a new composting bin!.

Next week we're back at the BAC helping with their Permablitz garden. Not sure what Permablitz is all about? Click on the link to find out more and sign up!

It was our favourite Monday of the month last night, as we went for our regular visit to Doddington community roof garden, followed by the pub quiz! Only one thing could make it better - a new face joining our group. So imagine how happy we were to welcome Laura to her very first session! (and not least because she cracked the tricky anagram question in the aforementioned quiz...)

We started off the night with a balance based warm up and, giving we've just entered the spookiest month of the year, a poll about scary movies - yes or no? The answer was a pretty much unanimous no - obviously we're all too busy getting out there for runs and doing good!

We had a bit of a soggy run as we headed down to Doddington, a former derelict car park which has been transformed into a thriving community garden, but arrived ready to get cracking on various jobs.

Malissa explained that the main task for the evening was the rid the garden of various grasses, mallow, bindweed and salvia. After a quick run through of what exactly we were looking for we got stuck in, each tackling a different corner of the huge space.

Keeping in with the Halloween theme of the evening, we managed to dodge the many massive spiders as we watched over by the clowder of cats that have made the garden their home. We filled compost bins, pulled weeds and dug out soil until it was time for us to leave.

With the rain setting in we opted out of a fitness session and headed instead directly for the pub where we tested our grey matter. Out of a lucky 13 teams, I'm happy to report that the Bindweed Babes came a very respectable 5th and Jesmond Dene parkrunners finished in third! Great work everybody.

If you're looking for a fun and rewarding way to spend your Saturday, why not join the group at Unigate Nature Reserve in Streatham helping to clear the paths to make the area move accessible? It's a task that will make a big impact and will double up as a great workout too!

Next Monday we're back to waste Not Want Not to empty a room to make space for donations. Hope you can make it!

Autumn is definitely settling in but that won’t stop Goodgym Wandsworth! A great group of us came out and just about dodged the drizzle. We were flyering in support of Foodcycle to build awareness of this great local charity and try and drum up more support. We flew through the pile very quickly and covered some solid distance with some stair sprints thrown in to get round some of the blocks. We even managed to grab a celebratory drink afterwards. Well done all but particularly Ali who did their 50th good deed which is a fantastic achievement! More celebrating to be done for that on our next Group run.

There was lots to celebrate last night, from Catherine's victory at the Great North Run yesterday to welcoming Ammrs to his very first group run - give him a big cheer!

Unfortunately not everything went quite go to plan, as when we turned up to Battersea Park's lovely therapy garden, our task owner for the evening was nowhere to be seen! However, that did not stop us getting to work. After a quick phone call for the code to the shed we got stuck in to a spot of weeding along the paths.

The garden is used as therapy for adults with a variety of conditions such as autism, physical disability, mental ill health and learning difficulties. It also offers various programs such as vocational training and support to enable unemployed disabled Londoners to overcome their barriers to employment and access job opportunities, and helps stroke survivors improve their mental and physical health by working with horticultural therapists. There are workshops for adults whose mental health means they need an environment designed to minimise stress and anxiety and also women only gardening programs.

It may not have seemed like we had loads of big jobs to do while we were there, but with the garden being used for such impactful activities on a day to day basis, helping keep it weed free and welcoming really does make a difference. And we also got to admire the huge courgette flowers and opium poppies!

After half an hour of work we found a nice spot in the park for our fitness session, which last night focused on upper bodies. Our traps, lats, biceps and triceps all got a thorough workout - and we even got joined by a beautiful dog keen to get involved!

It may feel like Autumn is drawing in, but we've got plenty to keep you warm over the coming months! Why not join me for a plog along the river tonight helping collect polluting litter? Next week in Wandsworth we're going back to Paradise cooperative garden and then on Tuesday we have a great task at Trafalgar Square handing out food and sorting donation for rough sleepers. Hope to see you there!